


Everything he found

by kitashinsuke



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Romance, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Kitsune, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, yeah pretty much kitsunes in modern day au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 09:00:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13163628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitashinsuke/pseuds/kitashinsuke
Summary: During a festival, Atsumu visits a fox shrine. Searching the true meaning of freedom leads him to a particular human, a chief priest.





	Everything he found

He didn't remember the last time they went to a festival. Atsumu thought it was strange that an Inari festival could happen when foxes weren't worshipped like before. There was no need for Inari anymore. Shaking his hand fan faster, he looked around: a long street that was connected to the main shrine, full of stalls selling foods and toys. When they were kits, the twins would pass by that village. The residents feed them beetles and fried tofu, patting both on the head and showing the twins around. 

There were girls with brightly colored dresses, kids running around from a stall to another. The sound of laughter and the smell of food almost made everything seem normal. 

Atsumu knew that at least half of those people were foxes like he and Osamu. They were everywhere, adults and children, with collars on their necks. That elderly woman said there was a time when kitsunes were proud of their power and did not submit to any human, tricking them and being feared by all. It was a shame to acknowledge that Atsumu was one them.

"Stop eyeing so much, you'll bring attention to us." Osamu's inaudible voice scared him. They walked the whole time together, but his brother didn't make a sound. "Let's eat something, yakitori or dango?" 

Unlike his twin, Atsumu still couldn't consume so much human food; he wasn't that adapted yet. He was envious that Osamu received his abilities first but his twin was quick to teach him how to walk, speak and behave like one of them. They also promised to keep it a secret since they, too, had an owner.

"Will you escort me the whole night? I'm not a kit anymore!" Atsumu replied with an annoying tone while pushing Osamu to an opposite course. "And if you're so frightened to be alone you should go find that friend of yours!"

Before being beat to death by his brother Atsumu put all his experience in running to work, Osamu stayed behind, with a red glow across his cheeks. Unquestionably, he was going to look out for Suna, using food as an excuse. 

As he proceeded to relax and walk through the food stalls, Atsumu heard a drumming sound in the distance. Some people started moving towards the entrance, their pets following obediently; others stood behind on the stalls. He, too, tagged along and followed the sound, passing through the torii gates and being guided by a stone pathway. Granny told him once that there were Inari shrines all over Japan. She always had some kind of light in her eyes when talking about the old times, as if she saw it all with her own eyes. 

"Oh, aren't you Atsumu?" A silver guy with an orotund voice approached him, sniffing Atsumu's clothes —a little too much into his personal space—, drawing attention to them. His eyes widened a bit, and he took a step back as if realizing something. "Man, it's me, Gin!"

Hitoshi Ginjima was one of the foxes that lived in the village. They met in one of the twins' visits and because their personalities matched, he and Atsumu became good friends. Atsumu greeted his buddy properly and they continued walking towards the shrine, a small conversation going on between the two.

"How is it, I mean, living here?"

"It's not so charming at all, you know?" Ginjima revealed, "It's so silent compared to the city, no one comes around and we have to be extra careful all the time." 

"Why don't you go to the city then?"Atsumu made another question, he saw an old man peeking at them in the corner of his eyes. Judging by the little girl with a collar on her neck beside him, that dirty old man was waiting for an opportunity to propose something.   

"I mean, there are some of us who are allowed to go but, dud-" He refrained himself, cracking a wide smile. "You'll get it." 

And maybe it was because of the chit-chat they had, but Atsumu didn't notice the drumming sound getting heavier as they got closer to the shrine. He recognized the traditional rooftop. The main shrine had a nice stark red color, golden ornaments and even more stone statues of foxes. There were also several other mini shrines arranged around. Hitoshi proposed him to purify themselves before entering, Atsumu couldn't reject his friend's demand, it looked meaningful to him. Next to the shrine was a water fountain with some ladles, Ginjima told him that before going inside, a visitor should wash their hands and mouths. 

The whole process of cleaning themselves went bad enough to Atsumu, not that he couldn't remember which hand wash first, but he wasn't the best with portioning water. After the purification ritual, Ginjima told him about the mini shrines devoted to other gods in front of the temple. They weren't empty, but the number of tiny wooden boards and paper cranes chains was a little too low.   

"I have to check on something now, 'Tsumu." He said, pointing to a small open temple on the left side, "You can go there, Granny will perform some music with the new chief priest!"

Atsumu gave his friend a quick goodbye, rushing to where Grandma was supposed to perform. The twins didn't know much about her: she was gentle and caring towards anyone that crossed her path, she was probably the one who thought the whole festival out,  _"So maybe Inari will look after them again."_ She would probably say.

He saw Osamu and Suna passing by but decided not to ruin the mood, he would have the chance to tease his brother after the event. Atsumu approached the modest stage, a black-haired boy with a cat-like smile was up there, hitting thick sticks against a medium-sized drum in a steady rhythm. Two other instruments remained untouched: an expensive-looking flute and a massive piece of wood with thirteen strings. Maybe they possessed some kind of traditional value but to Atsumu —and perhaps to everyone else— they held nothing important. 

More people gathered around, waiting for more. Atsumu felt a hand touching him,  _probably_ _an old man full of alcohol_ , he thought. The cat-looking guy continued beating the drum for some more time until a sudden pause caught Atsumu's ears. His eyes that were exploring everything stopped at the door, a dark shape was visible against the translucid white paper. 

The one opening the door was the drummer, offering space to Granny and another figure that Atsumu could only assume was the chief priest. They sat side by side on the wood floor. The chief priest started off by blowing long tones on the flute, Grandma followed him after a while, plucking on the strings in harmony. 

Listening to the good music made Atsumu's mood better, he even got hungry. After the performance ended he waited until the last person left to greet the two. "It's true, Atsumu came, huh." She said while walking towards him, a gentle tone with an even gentler smile. Atsumu gave them a deep bow, Granny smiled at him, pinching his cheeks "You must be really proud of yourself, right?"

"Yes!" Atsumu responded, "But it was disgusting." He had the same strange dream for, at least, a week: a woman wearing an extravagant kimono appeared from nowhere, riding a golden fox, she always tried to give Atsumu a decapitated head. There was only one time he stopped trying to run away from her and the other day he woke up with arms and legs, just like a human.    

"She's probably sorry, don't you think so? Oh, I almost forgot. This is the new chief priest. His name is Kita Shinsuke."

To say that Atsumu didn't note him was impossible, he was standing there, with the eyes of a dead fish. Kita wasn't as tall as him, but he wasn't short either. They bowed, and Atsumu felt awkward for the first time. Because he didn't know what to say. Because Kita glanced at him so coldly.

They looked at each other for a while until Atsumu stuttered whatever passed through his mind.

"It's a pleasure to meet the chief priest, please take care of me." 

Atsumu heard a series of little howls, two kits were running around, biting each other on the tails. Osamu came to his mind instantly. During a long amount of time, he was jealous of his brother because Osamu became powerful first. Now it was different, he could also brag about being capable, he could also  _feel_  capable. The kits stopped beside the elderly woman, she petted them on the head, just like she did with the twins. 

Kita approached them, taking both small foxes on his arms, earning whining noises from them. "You know you shouldn't be here. If you guys don't stop making so much noise one of those humans will follow us and kidnap both of you." He said, walking out of Atsumu's field of view.

Grandma tried suppressing a laugh, failing miserably. She patted Atsumu on the shoulder before sitting on the stairs of the narrow stage. "Please take care of Shin-chan too." 

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I should post this as soon as possible so that it won't be possible to delete it later. I'm sorry that I deleted this work earlier but I felt that it was missing something. Hope it keeps yall interested until next year's update haha


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